Arlington-Washington Futurity (G3) winner SORCERER’S STONE (Gulch) has been
sidelined due to a chip in his left ankle. The Pat Byrne-trained colt, who
suffered his first career defeat when finishing sixth in the Breeders’ Cup
Juvenile (G1), had been scheduled to run in the $200,000 Kentucky Jockey Club S.
(G2) on November 26.
“He came out of his race with just a little change in his left ankle and we
X-rayed him and have decided to stop on him and do a little ankle surgery on
him,” Byrne explained. “It’s not a big deal. It’s a very simple procedure. It’s
just a little, tiny fragment.”
Sorcerer’s Stone will travel to Hagyard-Davidson-McGee Clinic in Lexington,
Kentucky, for removal of the chip. Dr. Robert Hunt will perform the procedure on
Thursday. Byrne expects the colt to take 60 days off before returning to
training at Gulfstream Park to prepare for a possible attempt at the spring
classics.
“We thought it was best to stop on him now and do the right thing by him,”
Byrne said. “We’d have liked to have gone to the Jockey Club, but if you get
later into the year you’re kind of pushed going into the spring of next year.
God willing, if he’s good enough to be a (Kentucky) Derby (G1) horse, we
certainly want to give him the opportunity to get there.”
Byrne described the injury as a “stress fracture” or a “non-displaced chip”
in the ankle. He doesn’t believe the chip bothered Sorcerer’s Stone in the
Breeders’ Cup.
The dark bay has won three of four starts. After capturing his career debut
at Churchill Downs, Sorcerer’s Stone won the Honest Pleasure S. by 2 3/4 lengths
at Arlington Park and followed with a 8 1/2-length romp in the
Arlington-Washington Futurity.